Artist Mark Swysen

 I found his arts laudable and full of meaning, a very unique form of arts.

“Causa vitae”: “the meaning of life?”

In the media-saturated world in which we live, we are constantly bombarded with information. Our bulimic consumption of the communication channels stuffs us full of ever newer facts, demanding instant response. We simply do not take the time to reflect upon the fundamental principles on which we would like to base the choices we make. 

“Causa vitae” invites the visitor to reflect upon the meaning of his individual life. 

In the large space, a number of “human figures” have been placed, grouped in various stages of life. By passing through this work the viewer enters a smaller space in which he hears a series of philosophical statements. He may or may not agree with them, but they are offered for his consideration. 

Mark Swysen: the artist

The ongoing focus of the artist's work is human behaviour and the way in which humans comprehend their lives, the world and other people around them. While his individual works testify to an intense emotional involvement, in his projects as a whole, Mark Swysen maintains a scientific detachment, an objective, reserved stance towards reality as he presents it to the viewer. The use of Latin names, for example, can be understood in this light. It is a dead language that is now used only in the scientific nomenclature, and can only be studied in another time frame, from a distance. Swysen claims that he became an artist because it puts him in a position to communicate his hypotheses about humanity free from the scientific requirement of proof.

Mark Swysen works in a grey area between painting and sculpture. Acrylic paint is but a single element in his arsenal of materials. Metals such as steel, lead or copper sheets are welded into the dimensions of stretched canvases and treated with acids in order to generate new patinas. The materials are chosen for their symbolic qualities, the primal instincts that they evoke and/or their emotion-

al resonance for the viewer. The burnt wood symbolises the oxidising, gradually dying human body. The bitumen tarpaper used in roofing is for the artist a skin that protects the human body. It can be torn, scratched, burnt and melted. Old floorboards and discarded clothing are recycled.

The “structure paintings” have a characteristic tall, narrow format and are planted on steel legs: the images standing in space symbolise the equally diverse variations in humans. In his exhibition projects, Mark Swysen uses these “human figures” like actors on a film set. 

The viewer's experience of the total presentation becomes the artwork itself. The traditional “looking” remains a part of the process, but more important is the involvement of the viewer in what is taking place. 

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About Mark Swysen, the artist

                       

Mark Swysen focusses on human behaviour. His work explores the way in which man handles his life and environment, how he gets on with his fellow humans. 

While sole works betray a strong emotional involvement, in the grand total of any of his projects Mark Swysen maintains an almost scientific objectivity, perhaps a reminiscence of his education as a biologist. 

Cross-medial works

Mark Swysen walks a thin cross-medial line between sculpture, painting, installations and performances. The repertoire of materials used is inexhaustible: occasionally he uses acrylic paint on canvas but immediately adds mixed media. He welds steel into conceptual installations or works a variety of metals with acids in order to accomplish new patines. He burns oak or agresses it with a chainsaw before painting it. Ready mades are recycled into a new context: in “Terra” he litterally frames nature, accompanied by a leaking water faucet in the midst of a wastepile.

Basic human instincts and emotional eloquence 

The chosen materials are used on account of  their symbolical value, the basic human instincts they appeal to and their emotional eloquence. The burnt wood refers to the oxidating, slowly expiring human body; the obvious cellular structure refers to the naked human body tissue. The bitumen stands symbol for degenerating skin and/or hairy pre-human, neanderthalic hide. Spectators experience a sense of peace, equilibrum, even security despite a number of works point out our temporaryness and mortality.

Emotional and physical involvement of the spectator 

In the totality of a project Mark Swysen arranges these single emotional elements according to a rational and well-considered plan in order to communicate with his public. The experience of the total presentation by the visitor now becomes the work of art. “Looking at” is only a part of this. The artist directs his individual works as if they were actors in a play.
Sometimes he becomes a “performer” himself. In his “Quo Vadis”-project the artist inspects the guests passports: some may enter through the main gate, others have to resort to a back entrance. The spectator becomes emotionally, even physically involved. He often uses audio-installations making the visitor listen to a number of statements, formulating different opinions on the subject at hand. Though Mark Swysen has a clear personal opinion, he does not want to force this on his audience. The persuasive presence of his works and the confrontation with different angles oblige the visitor to form an opinion.

online site
http://markswysen.com/

Swysen Mark abstract contemporary artist living in Antwerp Belgium 0032 473 946 169 markswysen@hotmail.comNo part of this website may be reproduced in any form, without written permission from the artist ©2007 - All rights reserved.